


Always and Forever

by Methos2523



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Albus Dumbledore Bashing, F/F, F/M, Femslash, Love, Pregnant Hermione Granger, Sapphic September, Sex Magic, Veela, fleurmione - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:54:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26436781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Methos2523/pseuds/Methos2523
Summary: By two thousand and five, Hermione Granger was pretty happy at where her life was. She had a great girlfriend, amazing friends, and was settled and content... only there was a small hitch now, finding out she was pregnant wasn't part of her plan at all... and considering she hadn't even 'come out' to her parents yet, she had a lot of explaining to do...This is the story of Hermione and Fleur, starting early in Hermione's pregnancy, and through the years of parenting two smol veela that seem instant on giving both their parents grey hair early, along with their uncle Harry and aunt Susan...
Relationships: Fleur Delacour/Hermione Granger, Susan Bones/Harry Potter
Comments: 9
Kudos: 149





	1. Chapter 1

**TITLE: Always and Forever**

**DISCLAIMER:** All things Harry Potter belong J K Rowling... basically, if you recognise it, it isn’t mine... Please don't sic the Aurors on me, I’m just here for the fun. 

**Warnings:** The pairings here will be 'Fleurmione', Fleur / Hermione, and Harry / Susan... expect possibly offensive things here like sex, BDSM, swearing and... The French! 

Dumbledouche and McGonagall bashing from an character's perspective of what happened, and Weasley bashing from the start, other characters views will be added in discussion as time goes on... But either way, Dumbles is deader than disco and The Weasley's won't be a part of the fic at all. 

**AN:** Obviously going to be an EWE fic, not epilogue compliant, not Cursed Child compliant... all BDSM and Kink used and described in this fic will ALWAYS subscribe to the SSC protocol. Safe, Sane and Consensual. For those wanting to learn more about BDSM, bondage, or D/s relationships, I HIGHLY recommend tracking down 'Screw The Roses, Send Me The Thorns' by Molly Devon and Phillip Miller. 

**Personal note from author:** I completely abhor J K Rowling's pathetically transphobic views, and will never support them... so this is sort of my way of saying "evacuate JK's outdated and stagnant place for a better world" XD 

**Heathgate Road**   
**Golders Green**   
**London**

**Monday May 29, 2005**

Standing by the corner of Heathgate Road, Hermione pulled the long powder blue coat around herself again, making sure it was firmly wrapped around her entire body and secured with the long satin belt that came attached to it. 

The coat itself was a few sizes too big for her in length and came down to her ankles, but she didn't have any coats that would really cover everything up, and this powder blue one was the first one she'd come across while getting ready. 

She'd been standing on the corner for nearly ten minutes now, looking down the road to where she could see her parents house from here, their car parked on the gravel drive, and they were obviously indoors waiting for her to arrive, but she was just stood there, awkwardly nervous, afraid, unsure and confused. 

She didn't have the first clue about how she was going to start this talk that she needed to have with her parents, and it was all her own damn fault. 

She'd been putting it off for so long now, letting her parents assumptions or little questions and statements just hang in the air as they thought what they wanted. Like she was actually in a relationship with Harry, or that she was dedicating her focus to work for now and wasn't bothered about a relationship. 

She'd just been afraid, or awkward, or a dozen other excuses that she could come up with just off the top of her head. 

But now there was no more hiding from it. She'd put it off too long and now if she put it off any longer it would be another nine months, twelve months more? Before she had the time or courage to come down and see them again. 

Taking a deep breath she nodded firmly to herself, steeling herself for the upcoming conversation as she gingerly put one foot in front of the other, and then the other, and slowly walked down Heathgate Road like a condemned woman heading to her doom. 

It couldn't be that bad right? Her parents were reasonable and pretty liberal. They'd accepted her being a witch and all the craziness that had come with it. They'd forgiven her, after a LONG and extremely awkwardly truthful conversation admittedly, but they'd forgiven her for sending them to Australia and changing their memories. 

OK, so there had been some slightly awkward moments and complications that had come from sending her parents to Australia, but it hadn't been anything bad, and overall she actually thought her parents were happier now than they had been before. 

At least, that's what she told herself whenever the guilt reared up again and she thought about everything that had happened over the last god knows how many years. 

In the end, they'd accepted it and accepted her, that was the big thing right? That was her previous experience, that her parents would accept her and this would all be alright. This was just... oh it was so much bigger. Bigger than being a witch, bigger than wiping their memories and sending them away for their own safety. 

Much bigger, or it would be, she would be, soon. 

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts away from that she quickly moved her hand away from her stomach when she realised what she was doing. She had to do this, confront things first and then... then hopefully she'd be able to breathe easier and not be constantly worried, guilty and gnawing on her lip with a worried knot in her stomach. 

Walking down the gravel path she paused on the doorstep, double checking her coat again before she nervously fished her keys out of her pocket, fumbling around for the right one for the yale lock on the front door. She was procrastinating and putting it off, she could at least admit that to herself, but after two months of worry and gnawing doubt, it was hard to be on the edge and ready to step over into the unknown. 

Unlocking the door quietly she stepped inside, slipping her keys back into her pocket before she looked around and smiled to herself. Despite everything that had happened, everything that had changed over the years, her parents home was still her home in her heart.

She could only hope her parents would still welcome her here after they found out everything. 

"Hermione, is that you?" 

Her heart lurched in her chest at the shout before she steeled herself and responded. "Hi mum," She called back, recognising that that shout had come through from the kitchen area of the house. 

"You're late, I thought you were coming for lunch?" 

"I know, sorry." Hermione replied automatically as she gingerly slipped her shoes off and neatly shuffled them to the side of the entrance hall with all the other family shoes. 

Heading through the living room she smiled, looking at the fireplace that was filled with family photos and vacation snaps of their lives before she shuffled through to the kitchen, smiling widely when she saw her mum happily working on a small laptop on the dining table with a mug of coffee in one hand. 

"Hi mum," She smiled awkwardly, unsure how to really start this conversation. 

She watched as her mum looked up and smiled, and could see the exact moment where that smile faded to worry, then a thoughtful frown as she stood up from the dining room table and looked at her expectantly. "Hermione?" She asked, a worried tone in her voice as she continued to look across the dining room at her. "Are you..."

Hermione winced for a second before she slowly nodded, inwardly grimacing that she really should have known her mother would have picked up on it before she could say anything. Even Susan had managed to see it, hell, even Luna had realised it before she had, so of course her mother was going to see it. 

"You're pregnant?" Her mother whispered, her eyes going wide as Hermione nodded again in confirmation. There was no point in denying it now or dragging things out. 

"I didn't... I wanted to..." Hermione stammered out, trying to figure out how to start this whole explanation that was probably going to seven parts confusing and three parts awkward. 

"How far along? Have you seen your GP yet? Have you got an appointment for an ultrasound, how are you..."

"Mum, it's not... I can't..." Hermione shook head head quickly, trying to cut off her mothers awkward question. "I'm... the healers think I'm about fifteen or sixteen weeks." She said with a small smile as her mum lit up with a smile at that. "It's twins." She said softly. 

"Twins?" Her mum gasped, her hand flying to her mouth before she ran over, embracing Hermione in a hug. "How, is that... magic, are they going to be..."

"Definitely," Hermione sniffled out from the hug, unexpected tears running down her cheek as she revelled in the feel of her mothers arms. "Twin girls." She said, her voice muffled by her mothers shoulder. 

"Oh Hermione," Her mother smiled widely, wrapping her arms tightly around her baby girl. "I didn't even... was your father right, are you and Harry..."

"No mum, Harry's just... Harry's like a brother to me, I couldn't even..." Hermione shook her head firmly at that as she gingerly slid her way out of her mothers hug. "It's not... I didn't even know... I wanted to tell you..." She admitted the last softly, more tears running down her cheek as she tried to plot out how this conversation really should have gone in her head. 

"Honey, what is it?" Her mother asked softly, seeing the tears and worrying something was wrong. "It wasn't that awful Ron boy was it, after what you told me about him and that nasty sister of his, I really hoped..."

"No mum, it's nothing to do with them," Hermione said quickly, her thumb automatically going to the rune etched ring on her index finger. "It's just that..."

"Celeste, was that Hermione?" 

Hermione trailed off hearing her dad's voice from upstairs, looking to her mum awkwardly as he mum beamed happily while replying. 

"Yes honey, she's here!" Her mum shouted before smiling back at Hermione, the happiness in her voice shared by the big smile on her face as she walked around Hermione, hugging her from behind. "Whatever it is dear, I'm sure it's not that bad." 

Hermione could only mentally whimper as she tried to figure out how to explain her life right now.

It wasn't like she'd planned this, or had even had the faintest inkling that it was even possible. No of course Hogwarts wouldn't have had proper books or lessons that explained this sort of thing, why would they have? It wasn't like any bigoted pure blood would ever get into this situation, so why would they have any books on the subject? And if that meant that muggle borns like her were left in the dark and utterly confused, well that was their fault obviously. 

"Hermione?" 

"In here Mark," Celeste called out, directing him through to the dining room. "Hermione's got some good news for us both." 

Hermione's head shot around at that, trying to twist around and stare up at her mother in disbelief. The fact that her mother thought it was good news was definitely something on her side for now, but there was still so much more that she had to admit to and explain, she hadn't even scratched the surface yet. 

"Pumpkin," Mark Granger smiled as he casually walked through, leaning down to give Hermione a gentle kiss on the forehead as he came into the dining room. 

"Hi dad," Hermione smiled up awkwardly. 

"What's this news then?" Mark asked as he automatically headed through to the kitchen, making himself a fresh mug of coffee as Celeste and Hermione followed him through. "Have you finally thought about applying to university? Did you..."

"No dad," Hermione shook her head, cutting that discussion off before it could get started again. "No, I'm... I've been thinking about applying for my mastership, so I can start teaching in a few years." She admitted. 

"Teaching? That's great!" Mark grinned over at her. "Well, you won't be teaching at that old school of yours right, because..."

"No dad, not... not at Hogwarts. Never there." Hermione said firmly, shaking her head. "And that isn't... that isn't the news." She explained awkwardly. "I'm... I'm..." She tried, taking a deep breath. 

"We're going to be grandparents!" Celeste bubbled out from behind Hermione, reaching around and placing both of her hands over Hermione's coat covered stomach and causing Hermione to go wide eyed as she was faced with the shocked expression on her father's face as he span around to stare at her. 

"I'm going to be a granddad?" Mark whispered, blinking as he stared at Hermione in incomprehension. "You're pregnant?" 

Hermione could only nod, not knowing what else to say as her mother just held her in place and rested her jaw down on the top of Hermione's head. 

"Little Hermione's going to have..."

"Nieces," Celeste filled in quickly before Hermione could say anything. 

That was something else she held against Ron, the fact that after potioning her, somehow he'd managed to convince her to stay with him after the Battle of Hogwarts and move into The Burrow, rather than tracking down her parents and reuniting her family. Without knowing exactly when the potioning started, she didn't even know if she could blame her obliviating her parents on him, or if it was something she'd actually done of her own free will. 

That was the worst of it, not knowing. 

She hadn't managed to find her mum and dad until a year and a half after the war had ended, and little Hermione had been a surprise that had very nearly ruined all of her plans entirely. 

Little Hermione had been nearly two the first time she'd met her. She'd been born in Australia and her existence had thrown all of Hermione's plans out of the window. She'd never even contemplated that her parents would move on with their lives and have another child, of course, not remembering her, her father had kept to his wedding promise and their first little girl was named Hermione, just like it had been for her. 

So now there was her and little Hermione, who was currently nearly six years old and in her first year of primary school, and loving it just as much as Hermione had. 

"Twin girls," Celeste explained, drawing Hermione out of her musings as she forced herself to focus on the now and not past regrets that she couldn't do anything about now. 

"Are you... is this serious then? With that Harry of yours?" Mark asked. 

"It's not Harry dad," Hermione shook her head. "It's... I'm not... I wish I could just explain all of this and know you'd understand it but..."

"Shh..." Celeste pulled Hermione against her, hugging her reassuringly as she saw the signs of stress and panic setting on. "What's wrong dear? You can tell us, it's not..."

"It's Fleur alright?" Hermione bit out, forcing herself to say the words before she could chicken out again. 

"Fleur? The French girl that came with you and Harry to Australia? The one with the silver hair?" Celeste asked, making sure that she had the right one. "What does she have to do with this?" She asked, furrowing her brow as she tried to contemplate what Hermione had actually meant. 

"Fleur... she's... um, I don't even know what the right word is." Hermione winced, worrying at her bottom lip as she tried to think about it properly. "She's... the dad I guess?" She explained awardly, seeing the exact moment where her father's thought processes stumbled to a halt in confusion. 

"Fleur... she's... um..." Celeste tried to get her words out but seemed to fail at exactly the same stumbling block her Mark did. "She's the... the father?" 

"She doesn't have a... you know," Hermione explained awkwardly as she shuffled away from her mother's hug, seeing the confusion on both her parents faces. "She doesn't have boy bits, nothing like that." 

"Then how... what do you mean then, she's the father?" Celeste asked, seeing Mark was in no state to actually verbalise any of his thoughts right now. 

"It's magic mum," Hermione sighed. "Fleur... she's... you know like I spoke about Professor Flitwick or Hagrid? How they had magical beings in their ancestry that weren't fully human?" She edged in hesitantly. "Fleur's... she's like that, only... The Veela, they can... They're only women, so they..." She trailed off awkwardly. "Pregnant." She explained the last in one word. 

"You're pregnant?" Mark asked, his brain rebooting as he tried to wrap all of this into some cohesion of sense that he could understand. "And the father... is a girl? Who can magically get girls pregnant without a penis?" 

"Love is the most powerful magic out there," Hermione admitted awkwardly, sighing about the fact that Dumbledore might have at least been right about that annoying little fact. 

"Love?" Celeste asked softly. "OH, that... oh..." Her brain caught up with what this meant and she blinked slowly, staring at her daughter as that piece of information filtered through. "You love this Fleur?" 

Hermione could only nod in silence, seeing how her mother had put two and two together and figured it out. "I'm gay." She whispered softly, admitting the truth finally to her parents. 

"Well that's... oh, I... it doesn't matter of course, I'm just..." Celeste shook her head. "Sorry dear, it's just a bit of a surprise. We always thought that you and Harry were... well, just shy about the whole thing." 

"No mum," Hermione shook her head. "Harry's... him and Susan... they've been together for nearly three years now." 

"So, this... this Fleur? You and her, you're serious then?" Mark asked, getting more onto familiar ground that he could actually understand now. "You and her, I mean, with... with children on the way, I just mean..."

"I know dad," Hermione gave a half smile. "Yes, we're serious." She said softly, thinking about Fleur waiting for her at home. 

"Why didn't you tell us? How long have you... known I guess? That you were... gay?" Celeste asked, looking at Hermione and wondering how on earth she'd ever missed that little fact. 

"I just... it was just one thing after another," Hermione admitted. "With Australia, and the potions and the Weasleys..." She explained, seeing her parents glowering at the mention of the redheads she quickly moved on. "Then living with Harry and Fleur, then Susan moved in, and then... me and Fleur, it just happened, and it felt so right, but I didn't... I didn't know how to tell you after everything that had happened before, and then it just became... life... I don't know, and then this happened and... I just needed to tell you." She babbled out in a continuous stream, not caring that it was only half sentences and barely comprehensible explanations, it was just everything that she needed to say all at once. 

"Why don't we all sit down, and you can start at the beginning," Celeste smiled reassuringly. "A nice cup of tea will settle things, and you can explain all about this girl of yours and what you actually mean by her being magical." 

Hermione simply nodded at that as she let her mother lead her back over to the dining room table, leaving Mark in the kitchen to make two cups of tea for them and try to wrap his head around everything he'd learnt so far. 

"Come on dear, let me take that, there's no point hiding things now." Celeste smiled, undoing the satin belt around Hermione's pale blue coat and unwrapping it from where it was wrapped tightly around her. "This is a bit big for you isn't it?"

"It's Fleur's," Hermione admitted as she gently shrugged off the coat, laying it over the back of the dining room chair before she caught sight of her mother staring down at her stomach. "Are you sure it's twins dear? I'm only saying, at fourteen weeks you're not..."

"It's not nine months mum," Hermione explained quickly, seeing the question coming. "Fleur... Veela, they're... they're pregnant for twelve lunar months." She explained as she sat down. "Three hundred and forty eight days exactly, to the day, always." 

"That... that's different?" Celeste asked hesitantly as she sat down in the chair next to Hermione. "Is that... I mean, is it polite to ask? Are there any other..."

"Differences?" Hermione asked, nodding slowly. "Veela are... I think the closest you'd probably think of them is somewhere between sirens and harpies." She explained. "They're all like Fleur, beautiful, with blue eyes, silver or gold hair, and just perfect." She explained softly, thinking about how many times she'd got lost in Fleur's eyes while they were laying together. 

"Oh my, you are in love," Celeste beamed, seeing the glassy doe eyed expression on Hermione's face. 

"Mum!" Hermione blushed, smiling at the thought. "They... They transform, when they're angry or scared or stressed." She explained, adding 'or in the throws of passion, or during a particularly powerful orgasm' silently in her head. "They can grow wings, and feathers." 

"Oh my," Celeste blinked, trying to imagine that. "Wings?" She asked softly. 

"Giant feathered wings like an angel, they grow right out of her back where her shoulders are." Hermione nodded in confirmation. "Apparently there's a thirty percent chance that... that they can be born with their wings out." She said quickly. 

"That... I..." Celeste blinked, trying to picture that. "I don't even know what to say about that." She exclaimed after a moment. 

"I didn't either," Hermione admitted with a snort of laughter. "When Fleur told me, I thought she was kidding, but then she found me some books and it's all in there as well." She explained with a small shrug. "Fleur swears they can't use their wings until they're about seven or eight, but still..." She trailed off awkwardly. 

"My granddaughters are going to have wings..." Celeste said out loud, trying to wrap her head around that little fact and fit it into her world. 

"Sorry, I'm not..."

"No, don't you be sorry dear," Celeste shook her head quickly, laying her hand on Hermione's shoulder. "It's just... it's something we'll have to get used to, that's all." She explained with a firm nod to herself. "I'm sure it'll just be fine, I'm only trying to wonder how on earth you can give birth to babies with wings? Would they get caught, or broken? Or do they need to grow proper feathers or..." 

"I don't know mum," Hermione admitted. "Fleur's been getting me all the books she can, I just haven't had the time yet to read up on everything and memorise everything that I'm going to need to know." 

"We can help, really." Celeste said with a wide smile. "I know they're going to be magical like you and little Hermione, but I think we did a good job with the both of you, and we'd both really like it if..."

Hermione could only nod, launching herself at her mother and hugging her tightly as she knew what she was asking. "Of course mum, you're always going to be my mum, and you're going to be an amazing grandma." She exclaimed, hugging her mother tightly and smiling wildly into her shoulder. 

"I know it's not like..."

"Now, have you started already?" Mark asked, coming through from the kitchen, carrying his own mug of coffee in one hand and two mugs of tea for Celeste and Hermione. "I've been trying to wrap my head around this only girls thing? How does that even work, I mean, I can understand you say it's magic but there must be some sort of explanation behind it all?" He asked as he came over, putting the cups of tea down in front of Celeste and Hermione as Hermione detached herself from her mother and shuffled back onto her seat. 

"I can explain a bit of it, or I mean, I've worked out a bit of it. It does fit logically, with science I mean, it's just... it's a bit strange?" Hermione explained with a small shrug. 

"Alright, I can cope with a bit strange," Mark nodded with a small smile. "Only last week little Hermione turned her bedroom green in a temper when she wasn't allowed biscuits before dinner. I think we can understand a bit of strange here and there." He explained with a chuckle. 

"Accidental magic? Already?" Hermione blinked, making a note to talk to Fleur about that and see if she could get little Hermione on the acceptance books for Beauxbatons. "Fleur, veela I mean, they have... I think they have a different chromosome to us, something different to men and women." She explained. 

"Like a Z chromosome?" Celeste asked curiously. 

"Something like that," Hermione nodded. "Whatever the veela chromosome is, it's dominant to the Y chromosome, but recessive to the X chromosome." 

"Huh," Mark nodded thoughtfully, mulling that thought over in his head. 

"Fleur's dad is a wizard, like me actually, the first wizard in his family." Hermione explained with a smile. "Her grandfather, her mum's father, is a wizard too." She explained. "So Fleur is only a quarter veela."

"But you don't have any Y chromosomes," Mark pointed out thoughtfully. 

"Which is where pure veela come from apparently," Hermione explained. "When Fleur explained it it made sense, but she didn't know about chromosomes or any of that, she just knew that when a veela and a witch had children, they had pure veela babies again, regardless of how dilute the veela genetics were in the parents." 

"That's actually quite interesting," Mark mused, contemplating that. 

"So, all veela can do... everything you said?" Celeste asked curiously, spotting the curious look that came from her husband. "Our daughter's partner can apparently grow wings like an angel." She explained with a smile, watching the confused and shocked expression drop over Mark's face. "And our grandchildren will be able to as well."

"And more," Hermione sighed, slumping in her chair. "Fleur can't do it but her mother and... well, pure or half veela I guess? They can... throw fireballs when they're angry or afraid?" She half asked in a small whimper as she tried to imagine that. 

She could only look up at how her mother and father were simply staring at her in disbelief at that little nugget of knowledge. 

"I know alright," Hermione huffed, slumping down a bit more in her chair. "Me and Harry have already been scouring the books for every fireproofing charm we can find," She explained in a small whine. "How on earth am I supposed to deal with two little girls that can throw fireballs at each other?" She complained, looking up to her mother in desperation. 

"I'm going to put fire retardant blankets on your Christmas list for the next ten years I think," Celeste snorted, shaking her head as she considered that. 

"Mum!" Hermione huffed, shuffling back up in her chair and enjoying a sip of her tea. "I just... I don't even know what I'm doing with all of this." She admitted with a sigh. "We didn't learnt anything about any of this at school."

"Perhaps we should start from the beginning," Mark said calmly. "When did you and... Fleur was it? Move in together?"

"With Harry?" Hermione asked, contemplating that. "That was... wow, the summer before we came to find you in Australia." She admitted. "That sounds... that sounds like it was so long ago but..."

"Five years ago," Celeste nodded knowingly with a small smile. "Why don't you tell us about it?" She asked curiously. "You've mentioned a few things, but I don't think you've ever told us the whole story before."

"No," Hermione admitted with a sad sigh. "It's not exactly full of happy memories, I guess that's why I haven't really brought it up before."

"That Weasley boy then?" Mark asked. 

"Him, and everything else," Hermione admitted with a small nod. "I moved in with Harry just before the summer, after everything it just felt better... safer, if we were all together." She said softly, thinking back to that summer all those years ago. 

<hr>

**_17th May, 1999_ **   
**_Potter Manor_ **   
**_Honley_ **   
**_West Yorkshire_ **

_Potter Manor was a semi-large manor just on the outskirts of Honley, located on the edge of the woods of the Yorkshire Moors. It had been an old farmers lodge at one point, but over the years and several buyers, had been renovated and decorated to its current state where Fleamont Potter had bought it and renovated it up to serve as the Potter family home in the nineteen forties._

_There was a neatly tended garden in front of the cottage, with a wide gravel path that led up to the front door, along with a gravel drive to the side of the cottage with a small garage that opened with two thick wooden doors before the drive led around to the rear of the garden._

_Of course, the most notable thing about Potter Manor was that for all intents and purposes, it didn't exist. It hadn't for decades now. Even behind all the avoidance charms and unplottable work, the fact was that barely anyone believed it still existed. Everyone had said it had been destroyed in the seventies leading up to Voldemort's war, and they all believed it._

_Potter Manor was quite literally off the map, both literally, figuratively, and in the books. Nobody believed it existed, and nobody could find it without specific instructions from the people that lived there._

_That was precisely how Harry Potter liked it, and on this late Monday evening, he was more than happy to just sit in the back garden of the manor, cleaning and fiddling with Sirius' old motorbike, and enjoying the peace and quiet that came with his seclusion._

_The sun was slowly dipping below the horizon, and with his mailbox, ahem, firepit already going, the garden was filled with warmth, both from the fire and from the natural warm glow of the evening light._

_He was reaching for a new tub of leather wax to go over the seat and saddles when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle, and his hand went from the leather wax to his wand immediately as he looked around, narrowing his eyes at the feeling that someone, a magical someone, had pressed through the wards and charms he had around the cottage._

_The fact was, the amount of people that actually knew about The Manor could be counted on two hands, and out of those, the people that could get through the charms around the cottage without him personally letting them through, on one hand, with fingers to spare._

_"It's us Harry!"_

_Harry relaxed instantly as he heard the voice, his arm dropping and replacing his wand back inside his jeans pocket as he stood up from his crouched position by the motorbike._

_"Out back!" He shouted in return, moving over to the old wooden bench and table he had in the garden and sitting down on it, relaxing comfortably in the warm sunlight that was streaming over the tree-line that surrounded the manor as he gently started stroking the occamy that was happily relaxed on the table as well._

_Watching the back door of the cottage he grinned happily when he saw Hermione walking out of it with Fleur following behind her, and as he stood up he raised an eyebrow at the two bottles of wine Fleur was carrying as he approached and pulled Hermione into a quick hug._

_"Hey," Harry grinned, pulling back from the hug and smiling over towards Fleur. "How was things at the bank?" He asked with a grin, idly rubbing his thumb against the ring on his index finger, spinning it around the skin casually as he noted that both Hermione and Fleur were still wearing their rings too._

_"Good," Fleur smiled as she came over, collapsing down elegantly onto the wooden bench near where Harry had been working. "Zee goblins are... zey 'aven't changed, eet is still just as bad zere as eet was before zee war." She explained with a sigh._

_"Still grumpy old bastards then," Harry snorted, shaking his head as Hermione huffed at his language. "How about you?" He asked, looking to Hermione now._

_"I got a letter this morning from Professor McGonagall," Hermione explained, noting how both Fleur and Harry fell silent at the mention of Hogwarts. "She wants me to come and see her tomorrow." She explained softly._

_"About the newspaper stuff?" Harry asked._

_"Probably," Hermione admitted. "Maybe she wants to admit everything and get it off her chest?" She asked thoughtfully._

_"You trust 'er to go back to zee school again?" Fleur asked, looking to Hermione worriedly now._

_"I think I want to," Hermione said softly, looking up to Fleur. "I mean, I want to give her a chance to explain, at least admit everything that she did before..."_

_"What if she asks you about going back?" Harry pointed out. "To Hogwarts?"_

_"I don't know," Hermione admitted with a sigh. "I'd like to, but with everything... I've still got to find my mum and dad, and I don't even know..." She trailed off awkwardly. "I need to get a job as well, I can't just keep living here with you and..."_

_"Yes you can," Harry cut her off, shaking his head. "You've done enough for me, you can stay here as long as you want, both of you." He said firmly, not accepting any arguments from either of them this time._

_"Harry, I can't just..." Hermione trailed off awkwardly. "I don't even have enough money to buy any books that I'd need for school." She admitted with a dejected frown on her face._

_"If you needed money I can give you whatever you need, really." Harry explained with a small shrug of his own. "Or just take whatever you need from the library." He explained with a small smirk. "Hell, the library's more yours than it is mine anyway." He exclaimed with a laugh when Hermione narrowed her eyes at him._

_"Are you sure 'arry?" Fleur asked quietly. "I do not... Eet feels like we are... taking advantage, non?" She asked, looking at Hermione now._

_"Exactly," Hermione nodded in agreement._

_"You're not, really you're not." Harry disagreed. "Look, without you, I'd probably have been dead a dozen times over already, or still lost in the woods out there trying to hunt down all of his Horcruxes." He explained, looking at Hermione before turning back to Fleur. "And without you, I'd probably be married to Ginny by now, following her around like a love sick puppy and doing anything that Molly demanded me to." He explained in a huff._

_"Eet ees just..." Fleur frowned awkwardly. "We will pay you back non? When zee goblins start paying me again, I will pay zee rent you need?"_

_"Did you ever... you know, find out?" Harry asked, sidestepping Fleur's question altogether. "With Bill..."_

_"If Bill was using zee potion d'amour?" Fleur asked before shaking her head. "Non, if 'e was, or 'is mother or..." She trailed off with a small shrug. "I do not know." She said softly. "But there was no trust anymore, I could not stay with someone I did not trust." She explained in a whisper, rubbing the rune etched ring on her finger gently._

_The small silver rings were another thing all three of them had in common now. Harry had bought them for all three of them after coming down from the purging potions that had freed his mind from the Weasley's love potions. The little silver rings that warmed up and buzzed whenever they came in contact with any sort of potion. They weren't perfect, and they were expensive, and as far as Hermione was concerned they were the only reason she ever drank or ate anything that she hadn't fully prepared herself anymore._

_Both Harry and Fleur admitted the same, neither of them trusted any food or drink they hadn't prepared themselves, and both admitted to using the ring along with various detection charms on any food and drink that was offered when they didn't immediately trust the person beyond a shadow of a doubt._

_It was a sad and sobering fact that the Weasley Betrayal had had longer and more damaging psychological effects on the three of them than Voldemort's return had. At least with Voldemort, they all knew he was dead now. He couldn't return, that chapter of their lives was closed and behind them forever. But the ever looming threat of being potioned into another relationship, having their free will stripped from them, being forced to love someone against their will,m and having sex under a love potion, for all purposes raped? That threat was ever present and all three had admitted it being a constant source of nightmares for them all._

_"Yeah," Harry nodded in agreement, idly thumbing his own ring. "I wouldn't trust The Weasley's as far as I could throw Hogwarts. None of them." He said bitterly, still hurt by their betrayal. "You seen them anywhere around?" He asked, looking to Hermione now._

_"I saw Arthur in Diagon Alley again a few days ago," Hermione said. "He doesn't even say anything anymore. I don't think he's got any more 'sorry's' left in him." She explained with a sigh. "After... after what Ron and Ginny did, then Molly's screaming at us when she found out we were leaving... I don't want to see any of them ever again."_

_"I'll drink to that," Harry nodded, more than happy that he hadn't seen a single Weasley in three months now, and would be definitely happy if he could keep that trend going._

_"Did you ever find out..." Fleur started, looking between the two of them._

_"Who planned it all?" Harry shrugged. "No idea."_

_"Ginny kept trying to apologise, she was claiming she had no idea Ron was slipping me a love potion and that she was going to kill him for it." Hermione snorted, shaking her head. "She couldn't get it through her head that if what Ron was doing to me was wrong, she was doing the same thing to you." She said with a nod towards Harry. "The last time I saw her I threatened to curse her silly if I ever saw any of them again. I haven't seen them since."_

_"Either Molly was planning it all and didn't tell them about each other, or they were doing it separately, buying the potions from Fred and George's joke shop." Harry shrugged. "I don't care anymore." He admitted with a sigh. "I think about how long we must have been drugged for and... fuck, this country." He muttered, running his fingers through his hair in frustration. "What sort of country actually has legal rape potions? Seriously?"_

_"It is one of the only in the world," Fleur confirmed. "Even France and zee other countries in Europe, zey would not allow zis sort of zing."_

_"Pure bloods," Hermione said with a disgusted shake of her head. "I should have realised how bad things were. I mean, Molly talked about love potions so carelessly, like they were just headache potions or just something else she kept in the cupboard. And then the twins just started selling them to school age kids? How irresponsible can you get?" She muttered the last with a frown._

_"Don't forget we actually learnt how to brew them ourselves," Harry added in with a frown, wishing he could obliviate that knowledge from his mind. "They really don't see anything wrong with it, with rape, do they?"_

_"They must have been drugging us since..."_

_"Sixth year I reckon," Harry interrupted, causing Hermione to look at him. "Looking back in the Pensieve, sixth year is when I started noticing you acting strange." He explained. "They probably got me the summer before school started."_

_"That's what I thought too," Hermione nodded in agreement. "When we were writing it all out for The Prophet, I was reading back everything that happened and it just didn't make sense to me." She said with a sigh. "Chasing after Ron like a love sick idiot, defending Draco Malfoy, the amount of time I spent arguing with you over that stupid book, being jealous of Fleur for no reason, like Ginny even got me calling her Phlegm when she'd done absolutely nothing to me?" She explained with an apologetic look over to Fleur. "And hexing McLaggan so that Ron can cheat his way onto the Quidditch team?" She asked with a huff. "I mean seriously, does ANY of that sound even remotely like me?"_

_"So we were both drugged up, probably all the way through the battle as well." Harry nodded in agreement. "I'd bet that's why Ron really abandoned us in the forest, he had to get more love potions so they wouldn't wear off and you'd realise what was going on." He explained, shaking his head in disgust. "And you spotted it when nobody else did." He said with a thankful smile over towards Fleur._

_"I am Veela," Fleur shrugged with a small smile. "I could see zere was no love between you and zat 'arpy, nor between you and zee lazy eediot." She explained. "It was easy to figure out what 'ad 'appened when I realized."_

_"But nobody else did," Harry grunted, rubbing his stubble. "Or they did and they just didn't care."_

_"With Voldemort and everything, I think everyone's minds were on other things." Hermione explained thoughtfully. "Nobody would have thought about it too much, not with everything else that was going on."_

_"I suppose," Harry sighed, slumping down slightly as he thought about it. Even his friends like Neville hadn't really noticed anything, but looking back even he had to admit his actions during his last year at Hogwarts had been strange. "You're really thinking about it then, going back to Hogwarts?" He asked, looking back to Hermione now and moving their conversation back to their original topic and away from The Weasley Betrayal that they'd all suffered._

_"Maybe," Hermione nodded firmly. "I'd like to... I want to." She said softly. "It feels like... like if I don't finish them, then they've won. I won't quit, not after everything we've been through, I have to see it through to the end."_

_"I guess I can understand that," Harry nodded thoughtfully. "You're going to ask her tomorrow then?"_

_"Probably, see what see wants to see me for first." Hermione admitted. "You won't come back, will you?" She asked, knowing the answer already when Harry shook his head firmly at that. "I'll tell her." She said with a nod. "She probably wrote to you as well." She said with a small smirk, looking at the ever-burning firepit that doubled as Harry's mailbox at the moment._

_"Probably," Harry grinned, seeing where Hermione's attention had been drawn to. "Just... just be careful alright?"_

_"Of course," Hermione nodded with a small smile back to Harry._

_"So... to Hogwarts?" Harry asked, handing out the glasses to Fleur and Hermione, and waiting for Fleur to pour out a decent helping of red wine into them both before he splashed a good sized helping of firewhiskey into his tumbler._

_"To living our own lives." Fleur nodded, holding up her glass to say cheers to that._

_"To the future," Hermione nodded back, lifting up her own glass._

_"To the future," Harry parroted with a nod, saluting the two witches with his glass before taking a drink, smiling happily when they both started drinking as well._

_As the evening fell, the trio fell into easy conversation, moving their little gathering to around the small fire-pit in the garden when the sun started to fall below the horizon. With drink and friends around him, along with the promise of a fresh start for a new future, Harry Potter felt a relaxed sense of friendship settle in for the first time in a very long time._


	2. Chapter 2

TITLE: Always and Forever DISCLAIMER: All things Harry Potter belong J K Rowling... basically, if you recognise it, it isn’t mine... Please don't sic the Aurors on me, I’m just here for the fun. 

* * *

**Heathgate Road**   
**Golders Green**   
**London**

**Monday May 17, 2005**

"So you and Fleur moved in with Harry that summer?" Celeste asked curiously while Hermione took a break from telling her story to enjoy another mouthful of her rapidly cooling mug of tea. 

"Officially I guess," Hermione nodded. "We'd both been staying there since everything that had happened with the Weasley's... Fleur was having problems with her parents and didn't want to go back France, and I didn't really have any idea how I was even going to find you both or if you were alright." She explained softly. 

"Well, it was certainly nice of your friend to put you both up like that," Mark said with a small nod of approval at what Harry had done. "And he offered to pay for your school books as well?"

"He wouldn't take no for an answer," Hermione huffed with a roll of her eyes. "He's even more stubborn than I am dad, you wouldn't believe it." She explained when her father smirked back at her. 

"So this was before you went back to Hogwarts with that Professor... Flitwick did you say? The little one?" 

"He's half goblin," Hermione nodded in confirmation. "This was before Professor McGonagall quit though, we were just... it was like we all needed the summer to figure things out, figure out who we were." She admitted with a sigh, thinking back to those stressed times. 

"Was this when... when you and Fleur..." Celeste asked curiously. 

"No," Hermione smiled, shaking her head. "No, we were just friends, not even that really, acquaintances at best I think." She admitted. "While I was all hazy under the love potion, I hadn't exactly been treating Fleur like a friend, or decently at all really." She explained with a wince as she thought back to those awkward years. "She should have hated me after everything that happened, but she still helped me and Harry when we needed it."

"She sounds like a good friend," Celeste smiled over. 

"She is," Hermione smiled back, stifling a laugh at the knowing look her mother gave her. 

"So you went back to school in September then?" Mark asked, getting the conversation back to Hermione's story. 

Hermione nodded, taking another large mouthful of her tea and finishing off the mug before she started speaking. "I had a meeting with Professor McGonagall first, that was just after me and Harry had been giving the Daily Prophet interviews and showing them all of Harry's memories." She explained. 

"Oh yes, I remember you talking about all of that," Celeste nodded quickly at that. "When you were talking about that old headmaster of yours... Professor Dumble-something-or-other?" She asked. "I think that was the first time I'd ever heard you curse properly." She explained with a chuckle. 

"Dumbledore," Hermione nodded with a frown of her own. "We'd been talking about it for a while, but Harry was sick of everyone telling stories and lying about everything that had happened, so we drew up a magical contract and went down to the Daily Prophet with his family pensieve." She explained. "We must have spent at least two weeks down there, going down every day and answering questions and showing them the memories from me and Harry."

"That must have been hard," Celeste said thoughtfully. 

"Really hard," Hermione admitted. "But once we'd got it all out, it was... cathartic I think? Seeing it all for what it really was? Looking back on your memories from an outside perspective, it shows you a different way of looking at things." She explained. "Neville, Susan and a few others gave us their memories too. Even Hagrid." She explained with a smile. "I honestly don't think I would have figured out what Professor McGonagall had been doing without Hagrid's memories." She said with a soft smile as she thought about the big guy that had become close friends with them both over the years. 

"And this was before you went to see this Professor McGonagall of yours?" Mark asked, continuing on when Hermione nodded. "And she invited you to come back to school to finish off your exams?" 

"We talked about that, and a ton of other stuff," Hermione admitted. "I think that was the hardest meeting I've ever had in my life." She admitted softly, thinking back to the summer meeting between her and Professor McGonagall. 

<hr>

_**Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry** _   
_**Hogsmeade** _   
_**Scotland** _

_**May 18th, 1999** _

_Hermione Granger took a breath as she came through the floo system to the Headmaster's Office at Hogwarts, idly correcting herself in her head now that she needed to call it the Headmistress's Office instead since Professor McGonagall had taken over the reigns of the school last year._

_"Ah, Miss Granger, right on time as usual." Professor McGonagall smiled gently, looking up at her from her desk where she was comfortably talking with Professor Flitwick._

_"Professors," Hermione nodded back, forcing a neutral face on as she looked around the office._

_"How are you?" Professor McGonagall asked, coming away from her desk to gently beckon Hermione through to join them. "I heard about the... the problems you'd had with Mr and Miss Weasley. I can't believe either of them would have done something like that to you and Mr Potter." She explained with an annoyed look on her face. "If I'd had any idea that that was why you refused to come back last year, I would have said something."_

_"Thank you. I'm... I'm adjusting," Hermione shook her head, playing with the potion detection ring as she casually looked around and moved to one of the offered seats._

_"I'm sure it must be a tough time," Professor McGonagall smiled gently, trying to reassure her student. "Purging potions are never pleasant, and the effects can take weeks to wear off." She explained softly. "Have you heard any news about your parents?"_

_"Not yet, I'm... Harry's been looking at portkey's to Austrailia, but with everything at The Ministry right now... he says he might be able to buy an international portkey in a few months to go and find them." Hermione explained in a quiet voice._

_The sad truth was, there was every chance that Death Eaters had found her family and that Hermione, like many other first generation witches, had had their family taken and killed by those monsters during the year long struggle against the Death Eater controlled regime._

_"Then I wish the both of you luck in your endeavour. I am sure you will be successful." Professor McGonagall nodded towards her._

_"Thank you," Hermione nodded back, she knew the truth just as well as Professor McGonagall did, but it was nice to have someone that would try and reassure her of things, even if it was an almost bald faced lie. "Your letter said you wanted to discuss some things with me?"_

_"Yes, down to business then." Professor McGonagall nodded. "Obviously this year is going to be just as chaotic as the last, but we have agreed that many of the students who sat their sixth and seventh years during the war were not given the best tutoring available, and given how things were in The Ministry, we believe many of them will have received unfair marks that either bolstered or reduced their grade in line with their heritage."_

_"The pure blood's got better marks automatically just for being pure bloods, the half bloods got marked down because they weren't." Hermione simplified it with a grimace. "And the muggle borns had all been rounded up by Umbridge anyway, so they didn't even get a chance."_

_"Precisely," Professor Flitwick nodded in agreement._

_"The examinations board have agreed with our findings and proposals, and all NEWT's given out for the last two years have been revoked." Professor McGonagall explained in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. "Those who sat their NEWT's at the end of the war managed to resit them last year." She explained with a small smile. "While you did not sit your NEWT's last year, I can only assume Mr Weasley's interference in this matter, but I do assume that would be something you would be interested in returning to Hogwarts for as well?"_

_"While there are some accommodation issues, depending on how many students return. The offer of apparating or using the floo to attend your daily lessons will be made to all students of age." Professor Flitwick explained._

_"That would make things easier," Hermione nodded, giving Professor Flitwick a small smile at that before schooling her features again._

_"I told you you didn't even need to ask," Professor Flitwick chuckled from the chair next to her._

_"I assumed you would, though given how things are with Mr Potter, I didn't want to automatically enrol you without consulting you first." Professor McGonagall explained with a grimace. "How is he?"_

_"I've been staying with him," Hermione explained with a grimace. "He's... angry, frustrated, we both are." She said, waving to the copy of the Daily Prophet on the table._

_"Yes, the interviews with The Prophet," Professor McGonagall frowned in thought. "I believe both of you were responsible for these?" Professor McGonagall asked. "I only ask because, as you can imagine, after the stories about how Professor Snape ran the school and The Ministry hunting down and imprisoning muggle-born families, these latest revelations have not given the school the best reputation."_

_"They were all the truth, I read all the articles back before we allowed them to go to print, that was a condition of the contract we had with the editor in chief." Hermione explained with a sigh. "Harry has a Pensieve from his family vault, we showed the reporters everything from all six of our years here. Everything from our own perspective, no hidden agenda, just the truth."_

_"I do not argue that they are the truth, merely that..." Professor McGonagall sighed, massaging her forehead. "I did not expect Mr Potter to make his history known in such a public fashion." She admitted, the articles in the Daily Prophet going over Harry Potter's life, year by year in excruciating detail, showed exactly how badly the Hogwarts staff were and didn't really need any further damning from anyone._

_They'd started at the beginning, with a prologue interview talking about young Harry Potter's life before he'd known about Hogwarts. Even just reading the text of the interview it was plain to anyone that could read that the disgust the reporter was feeling about how Harry grew up without even knowing his parents names was boiling over into anger._

_The first 'Potter Edition' of The Daily Prophet had been a country wide best seller and had got the truth about Harry Potter's life out there for the world to see. How he'd been bullied and abused, kept in a cupboard under the stairs for the first decade of his life, and fed barely enough to keep him alive._

_"There's some of mine there too, it wasn't just Harry." Hermione said firmly, making sure that both Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall understood that. "And some from Neville and Luna."_

_"Yes, the memories and quotes of Mr Potter's fifth and sixth years were quite spectacularly damning of Professor Dumbledore and Professor Snape in that regard." Professor Flitwick nodded with a sad look on his face as he thought about the memories Miss Lovegood had obviously shown for The Prophet to print about the constant bullying and abuse within the school. "I have even received correspondence from some occlumency masters who went into great detail about the wrongs committed by Professor Snape during his forced attacks on Mr Potter. I believe 'mind rape' was the term used most often, along with offers asking me to contact Mr Potter on their behalf to help with any damage caused by his attacks." He paused with a frown on his face before continuing, looking away from Hermione as he spoke. "I have yet to consider passing the information on to Mr Potter, as I am torn between believing they are offering to help out of their own judgement, or are only offering to help because of how Mr Potter's experience has rather damned the practises of occlumency and Legilimency, with many practitioners around the country being given a bad name because of Professor Snape's actions."_

_"Thing's were... complicated," Hermione admitted with a sigh. "I don't know much about occlumency so I can't really say for certain how bad things got, but I do know Harry absolutely hated every minute of what Snape did to him that year, but Dumbledore wouldn't even listen to his complaints." She explained with an angry frown. "I don't know the full story about everything that happened with Snape during the battle or what Harry found out about him. I do know that he was responsible for telling Voldemort the prophecy and getting Harry's parents killed, then he proceeded to bully and abuse Harry for six years with Dumbledore's permission." She explained firmly. "Whether Harry's forgiven him after what he did during the war... I couldn't say, I know I wouldn't have been able to, but Harry has always been more forgiving than I am."_

_"And with regards to Professor Dumbledore?" Professor McGonagall asked gingerly._

_"If he was still alive, I know for a fact Harry would be hunting him down right now, and I'd be right there alongside him." Hermione said firmly. "The man might not have been a Dark Lord, but he was damn close enough." She bit out. "What sort of a man knowingly abducts a child from his guardian and places him in an abusive home, knowing what he's going through and still forces him back there every year?" She demanded in disgust._

_Professor McGonagall winced at that, inwardly grimacing at her own complicity of Mr Potter's home life._

_"Dumbledore knew Snape was responsible for his parents murders, but still forced Harry to sit there at Halloween every year and be abused and ridiculed by him." Hermione forced herself to keep speaking, ignoring the tears that were running down her face as she thought about what her best friend had been through over the years. "Every Halloween he forced Harry to sit down at the school feast that celebrated his parents deaths, in the same hall as the person responsible for everything." She practically shouted, wiping the tears from her face. "No, I was wrong, he was dark, no decent human being would ever do that to someone else, let alone a child!" She spat out in disgust._

_Professor McGonagall shook her head at that, and the fact was that the rest of the country agreed with Miss Granger on the fact, leaving both Albus Dumbledore and Hogwarts' reputation in tatters over what had been revealed in the series of interviews._

_Faith in the ability of the school was at an all time low, far too many in the country that had completely lost faith in Hogwarts after hearing about everything Mr Potter had gone through over the years. The worst parts were after every interview, The Ministry Aurors had been demanding to see her and required explanations for everything, explanations that she didn't have._

_What explanation could there really be for why Albus had hidden the Philosopher's Stone at the school in Mr Potter's first year? Sadly, the reporter at the Daily Prophet had hit the nail on the head when they'd given the only two reasons they could think of. Either Albus was using the stone and security measures as tests to see how powerful Mr Potter was, or it was used as an enticement to lure Voldemort to the school._

_Which left either the question of why Albus was putting an eleven year old through such horrific tests against his will? Or why Albus had lured a mass murder to a school with over a thousand hostages or possible victims to be killed? Victims that were supposed to be under his responsibility and care._

_And the questions kept coming. Why didn't Albus contact the Aurors when the Basilisk was loose in the school? How did he not know about it when a second year muggle-born student could figure it out? With the school portraits, ghosts and house elves, it was quite impossible that he hadn't known about it, and during all of that, the muggle born victims like Mr Creevy and Miss Clearwater had both confirmed that Albus hadn't informed their parents about their petrification during the year, but as soon as Miss Weasley, a pure-blood, had been taken, her parents were informed and were in the school in under an hour's time._

_The more the facts piled up, the worse Albus and the school looked, and by the time the interviews had reached Mr Potter's fourth and fifth years, the evidence was damning and overwhelming. Like why The Aurors weren't called to investigate Mr Potter being illegally entered into a tournament without his or his guardian's permission? Or why Albus hadn't offered pensieve viewings of Harry's memory for proof of Sirius' innocence for an investigation or memories of when Voldemort had returned. Why Albus hadn't stood for Sirius and spoken for him, putting him under his protection the same way he had done for Severus?_

_The facts were piling up and they didn't look good for Albus Dumbledore at all, and by the end of Mr Potter's sixth year, she knew that the public would have been out there calling for Albus' head on a stake and mounted outside of the castle itself, that was if he wasn't already long dead._

_After the articles covering Mr Potter's sixth year, Horace had resigned on the spot, literally that same day, leaving Hogwarts without a Potions Master or head of Slytherin. She couldn't blame him, the Daily Prophet was spectacularly damning of someone who had known how Voldemort had cheated death for decades, had even had a hand in helping him learn that information, but had done absolutely nothing to help defeat him until he was forced into sharing the information by Mr Potter himself._

_She knew Horace would be back in hiding already, the fallout that damned Horace Slughorn was spectacular and she doubted the old Potions Master would be able to show his face anywhere in Europe for several years to come without people chasing him out of their towns for his complicity in Voldemort's rise to power._

_The pensieve memory and article detailing Mr Potter's seventh year and everything he'd done to defeat Voldemort was harrowing, with a moving photo of a discussion between Albus and Severus, with the speech quoted underneath it, with Severus confronting Albus about how he'd raised Mr Potter "like a pig for slaughter" and Albus sarcastic reply of “Have you grown to care for the boy, after all?” chilled her to the bone and made certain that everyone in the world who read the Daily Prophet now knew that Albus Dumbledore had known exactly what he'd been doing all along, and the cold hearted manipulative bastard had actively planned to sacrifice an innocent child for his own plans._

_The memories Mr Potter had provided had shown a horrifying amount of abuse going on in the school, and a distinct lack of caring or responsibility from the faculty, facts that were thrown in their faces whenever they contacted the students now asking if they would be returning to the school._

_There was nothing she could really say to refute anything Miss Granger had said, because it was all true and everything Mr Potter had revealed had been damning to the school and the teachers involved._

_Hogwarts, as an institution, was in dire trouble. The actions of Albus, Severus and Horace were all laid bare for the world to see and judge, and the judgement had been so damaging that she quite literally couldn't see how Hogwarts would survive the next few years without support from those they had wronged._

_She couldn't even think of Mr Potter as 'Harry' anymore, not after these interviews. She didn't have that right, and judging from Miss Granger's face, she knew it would be a very long time, if ever, that she regained either of their confidences, or gained their forgiveness._

_"Miss Granger, I assure you we are working to fix everything that was wrong with the school." Professor McGonagall explained, giving Hermione time to wipe the tears from her eyes. "Everything that Mr Potter went through... I can only apologise for any part I had to play in the suffering he went through during his schooling and I would be grateful if you pass my apology along to Mr Potter with our offer." Professor McGonagall said with a small nod._

_"Offer?" Hermione asked, blinking in confusion and wondering if she'd missed something during her rant about Albus bloody Dumbledore._

_"To return for his NEWT's of course." Professor McGonagall explained with a kind smile. "While I am not certain of Mr Potter's future plans, the offer is there for him to join you in returning to the school. I would have sent a request for him to join you in this meeting but it seems that nobody knows where he currently is." She paused hesitantly before forging on, promising herself she wouldn't lie or obscure the truth from her students like Albus Dumbledore had done for so many years. "The fact is Miss Granger, if Mr Potter returns to the school, it would go a long way to convince other students to return alongside him. With these articles, I'm sure you can imagine that many families are looking to send their children to other schools such as Beauxbatons instead of returning to Hogwarts. We have already had almost all of the school's muggle-born population return our letters with firm refusals attached, indicating that they would rather attend Beaubaxtons or leave the wizarding world all together rather than send their children back here. Having Mr Potter as a student again would certainly allay any fears they would have."_

_"I lost my family because of the war Professor, I'm only still here because Harry's helping me try and find them, and if they make it back here without my help I'll find them quicker here than anywhere else." Hermione whispered, shaking her head as she tried to think about what she was saying. "Think about what we... what all the muggle-born students went through, even before the war with Snape and the Slytherins bullying and harassing us at every turn. Nobody did anything, there were bullies shouting mud-blood and cursing us in the halls, even Professor Snape was one of the worst bullies, and you... none of the other teachers did anything even when we complained about it." She bit out in frustration. "Or during the tournament, how I was kidnapped and tied up at the bottom of the lake without anyone even asking me about it?" She demanded, looking at Professor McGonagall firmly now. "My dad was seconds away from pulling me out of Hogwarts when he heard about that, it was only because Harry needed me that I managed to convince him to let me stay here." She explained with a frown. "I almost wish I'd let him take me out right now, maybe I'd still have a family if I had."_

_"Miss Granger, I can only apologise and say..."_

_"Harry won't be coming back Professor. I'm certain of that." Hermione said, shaking her head and cutting off Professor McGonagall's apology._

_"No?" Professor McGonagall asked, a bit taken aback by how firm Miss Granger was in that statement. "Are you quite sure I couldn't persuade him? An announcement that he would be returning would bolster faith in the school in a way nothing else I can think of would manage."_

_"He won't come back Professor," Hermione shook her head. "He's at Potter Manor now with Fleur, trying to sort through everything he found down in his family's vaults. Did you know that the Potter's and Black's actually owned a large amount of shares in the Daily Prophet, along with quite a few other businesses? The Black's mostly, but a load of businesses owned and run by Death Eater families who were happily taking shots at Harry whenever they could?"_

_"I didn't know." Professor McGonagall whispered._

_"It was quite illuminating to see all those names, the Daily Prophet were falling over themselves to say sorry once they realised he knew about his family's shares." Hermione explained bluntly. "Fleur helped him write letters to all the other businesses, basically asking for an explanation or demanding full return payment of all investments." She explained with a shrug. "With all the Potter and Black investments, there was quite a few to get through."_

_"Can we write to him? There are quite a few things that I need to say to him." Professor McGonagall asked, wincing at the thought of how many businesses Mr Potter now actually had controlling investments in and could very easily bankrupt with a single letter to Gringotts._

_"I don't even know what he's planning to do," Hermione explained. "After years of..." She trailed off, gesturing to the copies of the Daily Prophet on the desk and shrugging her shoulders. "Would you come back after all that? After finding out everything you'd been told your entire life was a lie? That everything he'd done, everything he knew, it was all being manipulated by someone who'd been planning your death since before your first birthday?" She demanded. Glaring over to Professor McGonagall._

_"I would assume not," Professor McGonagall admitted with a sad glance down at the newspapers._

_"Harry didn't even know about his parents memorial until we were there at Christmas, nobody had told him anything about them either." Hermione explained. "Nobody told him anything about his family." She bit out with a grimace. "He told me he hadn't even known their names until Hagrid told him, he'd never even seen their faces until Hagrid gave him that photo album. He didn't know anything about the magical world, just like me. At least I got books and the muggle-born introduction letters, he didn't get any of that, he just got the staff ignoring him and everyone else treating him like a celebrity for something he didn't even know had happened."_

_"Miss Granger, I will..." Professor McGonagall grimaced, thinking about how badly she had let James and Lily's son down by following Albus' lead all these years._

_"I'll pass on your messages if you want, but I wouldn't hold my breath," Hermione whispered, wiping away some tears from her eyes. "He's been betrayed by pretty much everyone he trusted over the years, friends, teachers, people he looked up to." She said firmly, fixing Professor McGonagall with a glare and swallowing back more tears as the finality of the situation hit her. "It's no wonder he's keeping everyone at arms length now, it's the only thing he knows." She said, as she looked away from the sad looks that Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall were giving her._

_"Miss Granger, I assure you..."_

_"You knew, didn't you?" Hermione interrupted, steeling herself for this confrontation that she'd subtly been avoiding until now, hoping that she was wrong and that the woman she'd looked up to for so long wasn't the callous and manipulative bitch her actions painted her as. "Didn't you?" She asked again, causing Professor Flitwick to look at her curiously as if he was trying to figure out what she meant by that. "I didn't figure it out until Hagrid let Harry have a look at his memories when we were talking about how Harry ended up at The Dursley's. Then it was all so clear, I can't believe I didn't see it before." She said with an accusing lilt to her voice, staring across the table at Professor McGonagall._

_"See what Miss Granger?" Professor Flitwick asked, curious now when Professor McGonagall hadn't responded to the question._

_"She knew all along what Dumbledore's plan was for Harry, I don't know how much she helped him out with it, but she definitely knew about it." Hermione explained bluntly, never taking her eyes off of Professor McGonagall for a second as she spoke. "Hagrid's memory, of dropping off Harry as a baby at The Dursley's. You were there, literally stood there when Hagrid explained that Sirius had handed over Harry to Hagrid and lent him his motorbike. That's when I realised."_

_"Minerva?" Professor Flitwick frowned, looking over at Professor McGonagall now for an explanation._

_"She knew all along Sirius was innocent, just like Dumbledore did. Why would a Death Eater who betrayed the Potter's hand over Harry to Hagrid that night? Or lend him a flying motorbike when it was the perfect escape vehicle he'd need? She'd known since that night, I bet when Sirius was arrested, you were both thankful you didn't have to argue with him about leaving Harry at the Dursley's, just leave an innocent man in jail, it took care of it all nice and neatly for you, didn't it?" Hermione bit out, shaking her head in disgust._

_"I only did what Albus instructed me to do," Professor McGonagall admitted in a soft voice. "I did tell him The Dursley's were the worst kind of muggles, but he..."_

_"Harry's first letter from Hogwarts, his admittance letter. You signed it as well. You already knew what his life was like living at The Dursley's, so seeing the address written as the cupboard under the stairs, well, that wouldn't be a surprise for you at all, would it?" Hermione demanded._

_"Minerva?" Filius narrowed his eyes, standing up now to stare at Professor McGonagall in shock._

_"Keep Harry bullied and beaten down, never let him have a good family, never actually have a good life." Hermione spat out. "It was all part of the plan wasn't it? Like Professor Snape said, raising him like a pig for slaughter. That's what you and Dumbledore were doing, wasn't it? Professor Snape was just the only one that actually had the guts to call you out on it."_

_"Albus assured me that it was the only way," Professor McGonagall whispered._

_"It's why you never defended him, or me, or any of his friends while we were at school, wasn't it?" Hermione demanded. "All to keep him beaten down so he'd just lay down and die when the time was right!" She snarled, narrowing her eyes as she stood up from her chair. "I think you have my answer Professor." She said, reigning her tone in as she looked to Professor Flitwick now. "It's obvious when you look back at it. Dumbledore never bothered to give Harry any proper training in how to defeat Voldemort, neither did Professor McGonagall. They both held him back as much as they could. Took away everything that he would try and fight for, tried to even take away his will to live. That's why you let Umbridge torture him for so long, isn't it professor?" She asked, glaring at Professor McGonagall before the professor looked away from her gaze._

_"I believe you've made your point clear," Professor Flitwick nodded, looking away from Professor McGonagall with disgust etched on his face as he shook his head._

_"I'll finish my NEWTs here if I can, I've never quit anything before and I'm not about to start now." She said firmly. "But I'm not going to turn back into a victim for the bullies around this school anymore. The first one that draws a wand at me or calls me a mud-blood, I'll be showing them exactly what we learnt during the war."_

_"I can certainly agree to that, and now I understand the animosity between Mr Potter, yourself and Professor McGonagall. Rest assured, I will stand in your stead and do my best to assist you in any way you require." Professor Flitwick explained, nodding respectfully to Hermione._

_"Thank you Professor, I'll talk to Harry but..." Hermione trailed off with a small shrug as she walked to the fire place with Professor Flitwick, Professor McGonagall being completely ignored by both of them now._

_"No, obviously, I understand Mr Potter's reluctance to return entirely." Professor Flitwick said with a nod. "If he requires anything of me at any point, either of you, you have only to ask. It is the least I can do for you both after everything that you have been through." He said as he followed Hermione to the fireplace. "These are things I will certainly be bringing up to the School Governors Board this week." He explained._

_"Thank you Professor," Hermione smiled, reaching for the floo powder. "I'll write directly to you if Harry does change his mind, but I'll have to see what happens with my parents first, I don't really have enough savings to come back to school at the moment, so I don't know what I'm going to do yet."_

_"Understandable," Professor Flitwick nodded in acceptance. "I shall send your book and equipment lists through tomorrow then, so you will have them regardless of your choice."_

_Hermione nodded at that, offering Professor Flitwick one last smile before stepping into the fireplace, and with a shout of "Diagon Alley!" She was gone._

<hr>

**Heathgate Road**   
**Golders Green**   
**London**

**Monday May 17, 2005**

"So that Professor McGonagall had known about Harry's life all along?" Celeste asked in horror. 

"Apparently so," Hermione nodded, the familiar anger bubbling up as she recounted all her memories again, remembering how disgusted and betrayed she'd felt when she'd found out about Professor McGonagall's complicity in everything. 

"What happened to her?" Mark asked. "She didn't get away with it all, did she?"

"Harry and I went down to the Daily Prophet in the afternoon afterwards, we explained everything that had happened." Hermione explained. "The next issue had her part in everything right on the front page, everything she'd done." She explained with a sigh. "Professor Flitwick wrote to me a few days later, Professor Vector was promoted to the headmasters position after the school governors fired her." 

"Well, that's something at least." Mark nodded thoughtfully. 

"Why don't you tell us a little bit more about this Fleur of yours dear?" Celeste asked with a small smile as Hermione turned her attention to her. "After all, we've only met the girl once, and we didn't even know she was such a big part of your life."

"Well, um..." Hermione frowned, nibbling on her lip as she tried to decide what to say. "What... what do you want to know?"

"I don't know," Celeste laughed, seeing the deer in headlights look on Hermione's face. "Start with simple things, what sort of music does she like? What does she enjoy to do to relax?"

"Kylie Minogue," Hermione huffed, shaking her head in amusement. "No, seriously." She explained when her parents both looked at her in amusement. "She's been singing 'Can't Get You Out of My Head' for a month now, it's driving me crazy." She explained, sliding down in her chair and resting her head on her arms. 

"Kylie?" Mark asked in amusement. 

"It's a veela loyalty thing," Hermione muttered, shaking her head in exasperation. "Kylie Minogue is a veela, or a veela witch, whichever... who knew?" She explained with a small shrug. 

"That..." Mark frowned, shaking his head as that little fact sunk in. "I don't know what to say to that."

"At least she's stopped singing 'The Locomotion' in the shower now," Hermione whispered thankfully. "Even Harry's been getting annoyed by it, and he's the most laid back person ever." 

"Everyone has their little foibles dear," Celeste laughed, leaning over and gently brushing Hermione's hair back out of her face. 

"I'm just shocked I never worked it out before, listening to her songs over and over again, the lyrics are too obvious." Hermione muttered. 

"What does Fleur do? For a job I mean? I know you're working at that book shop still right?" Mark asked curiously. 

"Yes I'm still there dad," Hermione smiled back. "I'm going to have to hire some new staff for when I get bigger," She mused with a small frown as she contemplated that. "I'll have to talk about that with Harry tonight." She muttered the last, making a mental note to steal Harry away from Susan when she got the chance. "Fleur's working at Gringotts still, they moved her up to the Muggle Accepted Trade and Transfers department. She's basically working between Gringotts and the muggle banks, transferring money and sorting exchanges out." She explained. 

"Oh, they hire witches to do that?" Mark nodded thoughtfully. "That makes sense, I always wondered how those goblins swapped their gold coins for normal money."

"They actually have a partnership with one of the international banks, it's how they transfer money around as well." Hermione explained. "Fleur could probably explain it more, it's not really my area of expertise." She said with a small shrug. "Then when she's not working there she's helping Harry out with his finances and other businesses." 

"Businesses?" Mark asked curiously. "How many businesses does the young lad own?" He asked, raising a lone eyebrow as he considered what his daughter was telling him. 

"Quite a few actually, including Flourish and Blotts, he was going to sell it until I convinced him to keep hold of it and keep it running properly." Hermione explained. "It's a long story, everything about Dumbledore and McGonagall, they were keeping it all from Harry, he didn't know anything about it until we started going through his family vault and found all the proper documents." 

"Oh, I bet that didn't go over well with the young lad." Mark winced at the thought. 

"No," Hermione laughed. "Apparently the Potter's, well, Fleamont Potter mostly, Harry's grandfather, invested quite a bit in businesses around Diagon Alley in exchange for royalties and regular payments in return." She explained. "It was only when we were going through everything that Harry found out that a lot of those businesses hadn't been paying anything back for years now, and they were owned by families that had been part of the group causing problems at school."

"I see," Celeste mused with a small nod. "So Harry's family was like an investment group then?" 

"Pretty much," Hermione nodded in agreement. "When Harry found out about it all, he was ready to either pull his investments in entirely and force the families to pay everything back in one lump sum, or just write them off and forget about them altogether."

"Neither sound particularly good strategies for dealing with that sort of thing," Mark frowned over. 

"No, but then, nobody had ever taken the time to actually talk to Harry about any of this before, and his family... I mean, his aunt and uncle that raised him, they barely even talked to him about anything, let along things like business or finance." 

"I see," Mark sighed, shaking his head at the situation the poor boy must have found himself in. 

"Fleur helped him pen out a proper letter to all the businesses involved, all formal and legal, it was actually really impressive how she wrote it all out." Hermione explained with a small smile at the thought. "Basically it came down to asking for an explanation and giving them an option to honour their existing deal under a new magical contract, or paying everything back and cutting ties immediately."

"A hard line then," Mark mused on what he was being told. 

"Pretty much," Hermione nodded in agreement. "He sent the letters out in August, so him and Fleur were going to deal with all of that while I was back at school." She explained. 

"Fleur wasn't at school with you then?" Celeste asked curiously. "I know you hadn't mentioned her in any of your earlier letters, but..." She trailed off. 

"No mum, Fleur went to the French magical school, I didn't even meet her until she came over for a tournament thing in fourth year." Hermione explained. "She was in her last year of school then, but Beauxbatons, the French magical school, they start a lot earlier than Hogwarts do. Ten years of school, ten years? Can you imagine that!" She beamed excitedly. "No wonder she was so far ahead of us all." She explained with a grin. 

"Fleur is a few years older than you then?" Celeste asked curiously. "When is her birthday?"

"Twenty third of June, nineteen seventy eight." Hermione rattled off automatically from memory. "She was the youngest in her year, which made her even more determined to be the best in her year from the start."

"Just like you were determined to be the best," Celeste smiled over, seeing quite a few similarities between Fleur and Hermione now. "So she's only a year and a bit older than you?" 

"But three school years older thanks to school cut off times," Hermione shrugged, remembering full well how upset she'd been when she'd been eleven and learnt that if she'd been born only a few weeks before, she would have been able to go to Hogwarts a full year earlier. 

"Well, since her birthday is coming up, perhaps you should bring her around for a meal so we can wish her a proper happy birthday." Celeste said with a small nudge to Hermione. "I can't believe you've been in a relationship all this time and didn't even bother to bring the girl home to meet us." She huffed, shaking her head in annoyance at her daughters antics. 

"Yes, I'll bring her to visit, soon, I promise." Hermione smiled as she nodded along with her mother, resisting the urge to roll her eyes at her mothers dramatics. 

"So, if Fleur didn't go back to school with you, she was staying with Harry and helping him sort out his finances?" Mark asked, bringing the story back on topic. 

"Mostly, and helping him repair some of Harry's family manor." Hermione nodded in agreement. "It wasn't in ruins or anything, but nobody had lived there for twenty years, maybe more." She explained. "Even between the three of us it took us a while to get everything livable again, but by the time the Hogwarts Express left, there was at least a kitchen and a few bedrooms that were cleaned and comfortable, along with the living room, and the library of course."

"Of course," Mark and Celeste chorused with a knowing glance to each other. 

"So what happened when you went back to school then?" Mark asked curiously. "You mentioned that professor... Vector was it? Was the new headmaster, were things very different when you went back?" 

"A bit," Hermione nodded. "I wasn't the only one going back late either, a few of my other friends like Neville, Susan and Luna were re-sitting their year as well, so I was with them, that made things a bit easier."

"Susan, this is the friend that you said was dating Harry?" Celeste questioned, spotting this familiar name. 

"Susan Bones, yes." Hermione confirmed with a smile. "She actually turned into a great friend the last few years, but with everything her and Harry have in common, I'm surprised I didn't see them getting together before." She admitted with a small grin. 

"Oh, is that a juicy story as well?" Celeste smiled, spotting Hermione's grin. 

"A bit, you'll have to wait for that part," Hermione laughed. "But after Harry lent me some money to get my new school books, Fleur helped me get everything to Kings Cross ready for the train."

"Harry didn't want to go back then?" Celeste asked. 

"No, I think he wanted to put as much distance between him and the school as possible," Hermione explained with a small nod of her own. "Looking back, I can't really blame him either." She said with a slight shrug as she thought about it. "But it wasn't until I was settled on the train that I realised that the letters Harry and Fleur had sent out were going to be an annoyance all through the year."

"Oh?" Mark asked, raising an eyebrow at that. "Nothing bad I hope?"

"Nothing I couldn't deal with," Hermione shook her head. "Just the families that owed Harry money or an explanation still had children at Hogwarts, and since everyone knew I was friends with Harry..."

"They all came to you to try and talk about things," Mark sighed knowingly. "I see where this is going."

"Exactly," Hermione nodded. "I was lucky to find a carriage with Neville, so at least we got some peace and quiet for most of the journey." She explained with a smile as he thoughts drifted back to her last ever trip on the Hogwarts Express. 

<hr>

**AN:** _Just a list of birthdays here to make things easier and clarify things..._

_**Harry Potter** \- 31 July 1980_   
_**Hermione Granger** \- 19 September, 1979_   
_**Fleur Delacour** \- 23 June - 1978_

_I know Fleur is never given a canon birthday, but given the date I chose for her, she'd be sixteen with her seventeenth birthday falling shortly before the end of her school year during the Goblet of Fire... So like Hermione is one of the oldest in her year, if not the oldest, with her birthday falling only 2 weeks into the school year... Fleur would be one of the youngest in her year._

_Yes, I know this technically means she cheated in entering the Goblet of Fire originally, but come on? A simple age line? There are a dozen ways past that I can think of just off the top of my head, and her cheating when she was not supposed to be entered would explain the annoyance we saw from the other Beauxbatons students when her name was announced._

_May 2005 ages_   
_**Hermione:** 25 years, 7 months_   
_**Fleur:** 26 years, 10 months_


End file.
